The Facebook Ad Boycott

Symbolic or Systemic?

The “#StopHateforProfit” campaign is a boycott by businesses who agree to pause their advertising on Facebook for the month of July. According to the campaign’s organizers, “it is a response to Facebook’s long history of allowing racist, violent and verifiably false content to run rampant on its platform.” The backers of the campaign are themselves an interesting group: ADL (the Anti-Defamation League), NAACP, Sleeping Giants, Color of Change, Free Press and Common Sense. These organizations have distinct and diverse missions, but they’ve come together with the common goal of stamping out hate online.

What they think about Facebook is abundantly clear:

· “We have long seen how Facebook has allowed some of the worst elements of society into our homes and our lives. When this hate spreads online it causes tremendous harm and also becomes permissible offline.” (Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO, ADL)

· “As corporations take a stand against racism in our society, they should consider how their advertising dollars support Facebook making Black people less safe online. …A key way for major corporations to demand racial justice is to withhold their dollars until Facebook becomes more responsible and accountable to Black communities on the platform.” (Rashad Robinson, President, Color of Change)